Werner Voss

[Trebrys]

Would anyone out there know what was the closest Voss ever got to von Richthofen's total when both were full flow, as it were?

I'm reading "September Evening," the book about him and was just wondering how close he actually got.

Best wishes,

Trebrys.

[timhog]

Hi.

Take a look at "Under the Guns of the German Aces" by Norman Franks & Hal Giblin.

You will find info on all the victorys of Oberleutnant Werner Voss.

Tim.

[Trebrys]

Thanks, Tim,

Looks like he was within eight on March 19 1917 when he got his twentieth. Unless someone knows better.

His twentieth kill had a very sad twist to it. It was an RE8 crewed by Capt. Eldred Bowyer-Bower and 2nd Lt. Elgey of 59 Squadron and shot down over German lines. A few weeks later after a German withdrawal, a party of Royal Engineers took that ground under the command of Capt. Thomas Bowyer-Bower, the father of the unfortunate victim of Voss. They came across a grave marked by a cross upon which someone had written "Two unknown captains of the Flying Corps". Bowyer-Bower senior than proceded to exhume the bodies and duly found the body of his son, Eldred. What emotions he must have experienced!

[Jonathan Saunders]

I think from memory in the month or so before Voss was killed he had shot down something like 14 planes compared to 4 by von Richtoften. I am sure I have read this somewhere as opposed to looking at the casualties and dates in Under the Guns. But the implication is that Voss was probably going to overtake von Richtoften's "score" in October or November 1917.

Regards,

Jon S

[Trebrys]

Very possible.

It seems that Voss missed the whole of Bloody April too as he was on leave that month from the sixth onwards so he could possibly have overtaken von Richthofen then. Even so, it seems that the Red Baron shot down twenty during that bloody month and probably put him beyond the reach of Voss.

Thanks Jonathan.